Cellist of Sarajevo author is suspended by university
mainThe Canadian novelist Steven Galloway has been suspended by the University of British Columbia, where he chairs a creative writing program, over what are called ‘serious allegations.’
He has not been told what the allegations are, or how they will be investigated. He has been suspended on full pay.
It’s all a bit Kafkaesque.
Steven, 40, is author of The Cellist of Sarajevo, The Confabulist, Ascension and Finnie Walsh.
Just what does this have to do with music and musicians exactly?
The cello is a musical instrument.
The book is the story of a cellist who gave outdoor performances in memory of victims in Sarajevo. There is some dispute about whether the author should have contacted the cellist before making him the main character of a book. This may not necessarily be the issue behind Galloway’s suspension, however.